Musical Fidelity B1xi

The Musical Fidelity B-Series in is similar in design to its predecessor from the 90's, a hugely popular model that, thanks to its pure transistor design, produces a very dynamic and open-sounding musical performance. By stripping back unnecessary features the engineers at Musical Fidelity were able to invest more in core components and improve the features that do matter - to create the warm and dynamic sound that is a promise to each audio enthusiast from Musical Fidelity.

The B1xi achieves price/performance like never before for Musical Fidelity. With carefully selected components, precisely tuned circuitry layout and years and years of research and development, the B1xi stays true to the Musical Fidelity philosophy and makes high-end more accessible than ever.

• HDMI-ARC connectivity for seamless connection with a TV
• Remote control included
• Class AB amplifier design

The B1xi integrated amplifier channels Musical Fidelity’s renowned amplifier expertise into a versatile, high-performance package. Driven by the design principles of the flagship models, the B1xi delivers 100W per channel into 4 ohms through a refined Class A/B circuit, offering a rich and dynamic tube-like sound. A variable RCA pre-out supports subwoofer connection or bi-amping, while a 5V USB-C output provides convenient and clean high-quality power for an external streamer. Designed for today’s diverse listening needs, it features a comprehensive input selection: MM phono stage, coaxial and optical digital inputs, ARC, Bluetooth, and three RCA line inputs—all engineered for seamless source integration.

The B1xi delivers 60 watts per channel into 8 ohms, thanks to its fully discrete Class A/B design, which is 100 watts into 4 ohms and 140W peaks into 2 ohms. All of this means that the new kid on the block easily manages to drive a wide range of speakers, even power-hungry models.

The power amp, complemented by its dedicated power supply and generously proportioned toroidal transformer, guarantees reserves for proper peak delivery and a wide dynamic range. Low impedance dips are managed gracefully, and the carefully considered output devices won‘t falter under any load.

The preamp section features its own dedicated linear power supply—a rarity in integrated designs. This separation ensures ultra-low noise and excellent channel separation, rivalling high-end pre/power separates. Volume control is handled via a motor-driven analogue potentiometer, preserving signal purity—unlike many modern digital volume controls that compromise fidelity due to a loss in signal resolution. Vinyl lovers in particular will appreciate the B1xi’s exceptionally low-noise, high-gain phono stage, which is carefully tuned for musicality and detail, bringing out the best in your MM cartridges without adding colouration or distortion.

Digital and analogue hardware need to be carefully separated from each other, as even the smallest amount of RF interference is known to cause trouble for analogue amplifier stages. Therefore, the digital and ARC boards are physically separated onto their own PCBs, and have individual linear power supplies. Drawing from decades-long experience in designing DACs (most recently with the ground-breaking Nu-Vista DAC and M8x DAC), the B1xi uses a carefully trimmed DAC design utilising the superb ESS9018 chip. The digital coaxial and optical inputs accept high-resolution sample rates up to 24-bit and 192kHz, and the HDMI ARC input allows your home theatre to be brought to life by the powerful B1xi analogue amp stages.

The B1xi is a device that focuses solely on sound quality, rather than potentially unnecessary additional features such as WiFi or app control. With a surge in popularity for all-in-one solutions, which come with a hefty price tag to cover the additional features, as well as being very maintenance-heavy, manufacturers are forced to save money elsewhere: Cheap plastic cabinets, low-cost digital amplifiers, and low-cost power supplies. Musical Fidelity stands for sound quality and robust design that lasts for decades. To this end, the money saved by not including unnecessary features is invested in quality resources and top-tier hardware in the pursuit of optimal music reproduction. This means: robust mechanics, discrete circuits, huge transformers, and Class A/B amps.

Specifications